SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Contrary to persistent public concerns that foreign nationals are draining South Korea’s national health insurance system, new data reveal a dramatically different reality: foreign enrollees have delivered a growing budget surplus for eight consecutive years, reaching an all-time high in 2024. According to figures released Wednesday by the National [...]
SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — For the first time, more than 30% of cardiac arrest patients in South Korea received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders before emergency personnel arrived—marking a milestone in public health efforts to improve survival outcomes outside of hospital settings. According to data released Wednesday by the Korea Disease Control and [...]
SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea has warned that continued efforts to stimulate construction investment through non-capital region housing projects may be exacerbating the nation’s widening housing market divide, rather than resolving it. In a report released Wednesday, the central bank argued that building new homes in low-demand regions outside the [...]
SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A popular government program aimed at supporting reproductive health in South Korea is facing backlash after a wave of early closures due to budget constraints left many would-be applicants unable to access services. As interest in preconception health rises sharply among younger adults, some local governments have already exhausted [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday it will expand its free “Pet Plant Clinic” service—an initiative offering personalized diagnosis and care for ailing houseplants—from 9 to 14 locations across the city by the end of June. Launched in 2023, the Pet Plant Clinic program provides expert guidance to citizens [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will select 10 industrial complexes to help support their application of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to achieve enhanced productivity and find new business opportunities, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will provide a combined 140 billion won (US$102.9 million) from the [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — On a weekday, a real estate agency in Seoul’s Mapo District was juggling multiple phone inquiries from prospective homebuyers but had little to offer, largely due to recent price hikes that encouraged home owners to withdraw their offerings in hope of further increases. “We are getting inquiries from over [...]
SEJONG, June 16 — South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has imposed penalties on two major online game publishers, Krafton and Com2uS, for misleading players about the odds of winning in-game items—marking another step in a widening regulatory crackdown on deceptive practices in the gaming industry. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced Monday that it has fined [...]
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will extend its fuel tax cuts and consumption tax reductions for electric vehicles (EVs) to ease the financial burden on consumers amid rising prices and weakening demand, the finance ministry said Monday. Under the latest extension, the current fuel tax reductions — a 10 percent cut on [...]
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The antitrust regulator said Monday it has launched an investigation into the Korea Egg Producers Association (KEPA) over allegations that the group played a leading role in driving up egg prices. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), investigators were dispatched to the association’s offices to look into suspicions [...]